System and method for managing e-commerce transaction

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an avatar engine having a controller to retrieve a user profile of a user, present the user an avatar having characteristics that correlate to the user profile, detect one or more responses of the user during a communication exchange between the avatar and the user, identify from the one or more responses a need to engage in an e-commerce transaction, engage in a commercial exchange with a merchant system according to the e-commerce transaction, identify a commercial status of the e-commerce transaction from the commercial exchange with the merchant system, and present the user by way of the avatar the commercial status of the e-commerce transaction. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to e-commerce transactiontechniques and more specifically to a system and method for managinge-commerce transactions.

BACKGROUND

On-line commerce, which can be referred to as e-commerce, has over theyears achieved widespread acceptance thanks to the expansive growth ofthe Internet and the growing sophistication of on-line merchant systems.Consumers today can purchase goods or services from on-line merchantsover secure communication interfaces operating according to protocolssuch as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). E-commercetransactions using the HTTPS protocol usually show an iconic symbol suchas a “pad lock” somewhere in the browser window to indicate to the userthat the communication with the on-line merchant is secure.

Sophisticated e-commerce systems have provided users a means to purchaseor sell goods by fixed price or auctioning methods. Many retailers todayalso offer their consumers the convenience to purchase their productsover on-line systems. To enhance a user's security in e-commercetransactions, payments systems such as PayPal™ can be used to protectthe privacy of sensitive consumer information such as bank accounts andcredit card information during an e-commerce transaction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-4 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal interacting withat least one among the communication systems of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method operating inportions of the communication systems of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system operatingaccording to the method of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the present disclosure can entail an avatar enginehaving a controller to retrieve a user profile of a user, present theuser an avatar having characteristics that correlate to the userprofile, detect one or more responses of the user during a communicationexchange between the avatar and the user, identify from the one or moreresponses a need to engage in an e-commerce transaction, engage in acommercial exchange with a merchant system according to the e-commercetransaction, identify a commercial status of the e-commerce transactionfrom the commercial exchange with the merchant system, and present theuser by way of the avatar the commercial status of the e-commercetransaction.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure can entail presenting auser an avatar having characteristics that correlate to a profile of theuser, identifying from a communication exchange between the user and theavatar a need to engage in an e-commerce transaction, identifying amerchant system that satisfies the identified need, and engaging in acommercial exchange with the merchant system according to the e-commercetransaction.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure can entail acomputer-readable storage medium having computer instructions forpresenting a user an avatar having characteristics that correlate to aprofile of the user, identifying from a communication exchange betweenthe user and the avatar a need to engage in an e-commerce transaction,and engaging in a commercial exchange with a merchant system accordingto the identified e-commerce transaction.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast mediasystem. In a typical IPTV infrastructure, there is a super head-endoffice (SHO) with at least one super headend office server (SHS) whichreceives national media programs from satellite and/or media serversfrom service providers of multimedia broadcast channels. In the presentcontext, media programs can represent audio content, moving imagecontent such as videos, still image content, and/or combinationsthereof. The SHS server forwards IP packets associated with the mediacontent to video head-end servers (VHS) via a network of aggregationpoints such as video head-end offices (VHO) according to a commonmulticast communication method.

The VHS then distributes multimedia broadcast programs via an accessnetwork to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing a gateway104 (such as a residential gateway or RG). The access network canrepresent a bank of digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs)located in a central office or a service area interface that providebroadband services over optical links or copper twisted pairs tobuildings 102. The gateway 104 distributes broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast selections to media devices 108 such as computers ortelevision sets managed in some instances by a media controller 107(such as an infrared or RF remote control). Unicast traffic can also beexchanged between the media processors 106 and subsystems of the IPTVmedia system for services such as video-on-demand (VoD). It will beappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the media devices108 and/or portable communication devices 116 shown in FIG. 1 can be anintegral part of the media processor 106 and can be communicativelycoupled to the gateway 104. In this particular embodiment, an integraldevice such as described can receive, respond, process and presentmulticast or unicast media content.

The IPTV media system can be coupled to one or more computing devices130 a portion of which can operate as a web server for providing portalservices over an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network 132 to fixedline media devices 108 or portable communication devices 116 by way of awireless access point 117 providing Wireless Fidelity or WiFi services,or cellular communication services (such as GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX,etc.).

Another distinct portion of the one or more computing devices 130 can beused as an avatar engine (herein referred to as avatar engine 130) forgenerating and managing interactive avatars which users of the firstcommunication system 100 can be presented for general assistance andpresentation of interactive television (iTV) services as well as forengaging in e-commerce transactions on behalf of a user as describedbelow in FIG. 7. The avatar engine 130 can use common imaging technologyfor creating avatars with human-like or animated qualities. The avatarengine 130 can also use common speech recognition and speech synthesistechnology to produce an interactive avatar. The avatar engine 130 canemploy common speech recognition technology to determine the user'sneeds from a communication exchange between the user and the avatarimage produced by the avatar engine.

A satellite broadcast television system can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system. In this embodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115can be intercepted by a satellite dish receiver 131 coupled to building102 which conveys media signals to the media processors 106. The mediareceivers 106 can be equipped with a broadband port to the ISP network132. Although not shown, the communication system 100 can also becombined or replaced with analog or digital broadcast distributionssystems such as cable TV systems.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second communicationsystem 200 for delivering media content. Communication system 200 can beoverlaid or operably coupled with communication system 100 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of said communication system. The system 200includes a distribution switch/router system 228 at a central office218. The distribution switch/router system 228 receives video data via amulticast television stream 230 from a second distribution switch/router234 at an intermediate office 220. The multicast television stream 230includes Internet Protocol (IP) data packets addressed to a multicast IPaddress associated with a television channel. The distributionswitch/router system 228 can cache data associated with each televisionchannel received from the intermediate office 220.

The distribution switch/router system 228 also receives unicast datatraffic from the intermediate office 220 via a unicast traffic stream232. The unicast traffic stream 232 includes data packets related todevices located at a particular residence, such as the residence 202.For example, the unicast traffic stream 232 can include data trafficrelated to a digital subscriber line, a telephone line, another dataconnection, or any combination thereof. To illustrate, the unicasttraffic stream 232 can communicate data packets to and from a telephone212 associated with a subscriber at the residence 202. The telephone 212can be a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone. To furtherillustrate, the unicast traffic stream 232 can communicate data packetsto and from a personal computer 210 at the residence 202 via one or moredata routers 208. In an additional illustration, the unicast trafficstream 232 can communicate data packets to and from a set-top boxdevice, such as the set-top box devices 204, 206. The unicast trafficstream 232 can communicate data packets to and from the devices locatedat the residence 202 via one or more residential gateways 214 associatedwith the residence 202.

The distribution switch/router system 228 can send data to one or moreaccess switch/router systems 226. The access switch/router system 226can include or be included within a service area interface 216. In aparticular embodiment, the access switch/router system 226 can include aDSLAM. The access switch/router system 226 can receive data from thedistribution switch/router system 228 via a broadcast television (BTV)stream 222 and a plurality of unicast subscriber traffic streams 224.The BTV stream 222 can be used to communicate video data packetsassociated with a multicast stream.

For example, the BTV stream 222 can include a multicast virtual localarea network (VLAN) connection between the distribution switch/routersystem 228 and the access switch/router system 226. Each of theplurality of subscriber traffic streams 224 can be used to communicatesubscriber specific data packets. For example, the first subscribertraffic stream can communicate data related to a first subscriber, andthe nth subscriber traffic stream can communicate data related to an nthsubscriber. Each subscriber to the system 200 can be associated with arespective subscriber traffic stream 224. The subscriber traffic stream224 can include a subscriber VLAN connection between the distributionswitch/router system 228 and the access switch/router system 226 that isassociated with a particular set-top box device 204, 206, a particularresidence 202, a particular residential gateway 214, another deviceassociated with a subscriber, or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, a set-top box device, such as the set-topbox device 204, receives a channel change command from an input device,such as a remoter control device. The channel change command canindicate selection of an IPTV channel. After receiving the channelchange command, the set-top box device 204 generates channel selectiondata that indicates the selection of the IPTV channel. The set-top boxdevice 204 can send the channel selection data to the accessswitch/router system 226 via the residential gateway 214. The channelselection data can include an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)Join request. In an illustrative embodiment, the access switch/routersystem 226 can identify whether it is joined to a multicast groupassociated with the requested channel based on information in the IGMPJoin request.

If the access switch/router system 226 is not joined to the multicastgroup associated with the requested channel, the access switch/routersystem 226 can generate a multicast stream request. The multicast streamrequest can be generated by modifying the received channel selectiondata. In an illustrative embodiment, the access switch/router system 226can modify an IGMP Join request to produce a proxy IGMP Join request.The access switch/router system 226 can send the multicast streamrequest to the distribution switch/router system 228 via the BTV stream222. In response to receiving the multicast stream request, thedistribution switch/router system 228 can send a stream associated withthe requested channel to the access switch/router system 226 via the BTVstream 222.

The avatar engine 130 of FIG. 1 can be operably coupled to the secondcommunication system 200 for purposes similar to those described above.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a third communicationsystem 300 for delivering media content. Communication system 300 can beoverlaid or operably coupled with communication systems 100-200 asanother representative embodiment of said communication systems. Asshown, the system 300 can include a client facing tier 302, anapplication tier 304, an acquisition tier 306, and an operations andmanagement tier 308. Each tier 302, 304, 306, 308 is coupled to aprivate network 310, such as a network of common packet-switched routersand/or switches; to a public network 312, such as the Internet; or toboth the private network 310 and the public network 312. For example,the client-facing tier 302 can be coupled to the private network 310.Further, the application tier 304 can be coupled to the private network310 and to the public network 312. The acquisition tier 306 can also becoupled to the private network 310 and to the public network 312.Additionally, the operations and management tier 308 can be coupled tothe public network 312.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the various tiers 302, 304, 306, 308communicate with each other via the private network 310 and the publicnetwork 312. For instance, the client-facing tier 302 can communicatewith the application tier 304 and the acquisition tier 306 via theprivate network 310. The application tier 304 can communicate with theacquisition tier 306 via the private network 310. Further, theapplication tier 304 can communicate with the acquisition tier 306 andthe operations and management tier 308 via the public network 312.Moreover, the acquisition tier 306 can communicate with the operationsand management tier 308 via the public network 312. In a particularembodiment, elements of the application tier 304, including, but notlimited to, a client gateway 350, can communicate directly with theclient-facing tier 302.

The client-facing tier 302 can communicate with user equipment via anaccess network 366, such as an IPTV access network. In an illustrativeembodiment, customer premises equipment (CPE) 314, 322 can be coupled toa local switch, router, or other device of the access network 366. Theclient-facing tier 302 can communicate with a first representativeset-top box device 316 via the first CPE 314 and with a secondrepresentative set-top box device 324 via the second CPE 322. In aparticular embodiment, the first representative set-top box device 316and the first CPE 314 can be located at a first customer premise, andthe second representative set-top box device 324 and the second CPE 322can be located at a second customer premise.

In another particular embodiment, the first representative set-top boxdevice 316 and the second representative set-top box device 324 can belocated at a single customer premise, both coupled to one of the CPE314, 322. The CPE 314, 322 can include routers, local area networkdevices, modems, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, any othersuitable devices for facilitating communication between a set-top boxdevice and the access network 366, or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 can be coupledto the CPE 314, 322 via fiber optic cables. In another illustrativeembodiment, the CPE 314, 322 can include DSL modems that are coupled toone or more network nodes via twisted pairs, and the client-facing tier302 can be coupled to the network nodes via fiber-optic cables. Eachset-top box device 316, 324 can process data received via the accessnetwork 366, via a common IPTV software platform.

The first set-top box device 316 can be coupled to a first externaldisplay device, such as a first television monitor 318, and the secondset-top box device 324 can be coupled to a second external displaydevice, such as a second television monitor 326. Moreover, the firstset-top box device 316 can communicate with a first remote control 320,and the second set-top box device 324 can communicate with a secondremote control 328. The set-top box devices 316, 324 can include IPTVset-top box devices; video gaming devices or consoles that are adaptedto receive IPTV content; personal computers or other computing devicesthat are adapted to emulate set-top box device functionalities; anyother device adapted to receive IPTV content and transmit data to anIPTV system via an access network; or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, each set-top box device316, 324 can receive data, video, or any combination thereof, from theclient-facing tier 302 via the access network 366 and render or displaythe data, video, or any combination thereof, at the display device 318,326 to which it is coupled. In an illustrative embodiment, the set-topbox devices 316, 324 can include tuners that receive and decodetelevision programming signals or packet streams for transmission to thedisplay devices 318, 326. Further, the set-top box devices 316, 324 caneach include a STB processor 370 and a STB memory device 372 that isaccessible to the STB processor 370. In one embodiment, a computerprogram, such as the STB computer program 374, can be embedded withinthe STB memory device 372.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 can include aclient-facing tier (CFT) switch 330 that manages communication betweenthe client-facing tier 302 and the access network 366 and between theclient-facing tier 302 and the private network 310. As illustrated, theCFT switch 330 is coupled to one or more distribution servers, such asDistribution-servers (D-servers) 332, that store, format, encode,replicate, or otherwise manipulate or prepare video content forcommunication from the client-facing tier 302 to the set-top box devices316, 324. The CFT switch 330 can also be coupled to a terminal server334 that provides terminal devices with a point of connection to theIPTV system 300 via the client-facing tier 302.

In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 330 can be coupled to a VoDserver 336 that stores or provides VoD content imported by the IPTVsystem 300. Further, the CFT switch 330 is coupled to one or more videoservers 380 that receive video content and transmit the content to theset-top boxes 316, 324 via the access network 366. The client-facingtier 302 may include a CPE management server 382 that managescommunications to and from the CPE 314 and the CPE 322. For example, theCPE management server 382 may collect performance data associated withthe set-top box devices 316, 324 from the CPE 314 or the CPE 322 andforward the collected performance data to a server associated with theoperations and management tier 308.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 302 cancommunicate with a large number of set-top boxes, such as therepresentative set-top boxes 316, 324, over a wide geographic area, suchas a metropolitan area, a viewing area, a statewide area, a regionalarea, a nationwide area or any other suitable geographic area, marketarea, or subscriber or customer group that can be supported bynetworking the client-facing tier 302 to numerous set-top box devices.In a particular embodiment, the CFT switch 330, or any portion thereof,can include a multicast router or switch that communicates with multipleset-top box devices via a multicast-enabled network.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the application tier 304 can communicate withboth the private network 310 and the public network 312. The applicationtier 304 can include a first application tier (APP) switch 338 and asecond APP switch 340. In a particular embodiment, the first APP switch338 can be coupled to the second APP switch 340. The first APP switch338 can be coupled to an application server 342 and to an OSS/BSSgateway 344. In a particular embodiment, the application server 342 canprovide applications to the set-top box devices 316, 324 via the accessnetwork 366, which enable the set-top box devices 316, 324 to providefunctions, such as interactive program guides, video gaming, display,messaging, processing of VoD material and other IPTV content, etc. In anillustrative embodiment, the application server 342 can provide locationinformation to the set-top box devices 316, 324. In a particularembodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 includes operation systems andsupport (OSS) data, as well as billing systems and support (BSS) data.In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 can provide or restrictaccess to an OSS/BSS server 364 that stores operations and billingsystems data.

The second APP switch 340 can be coupled to a domain controller 346 thatprovides Internet access, for example, to users at their computers 368via the public network 312. For example, the domain controller 346 canprovide remote Internet access to IPTV account information, e-mail,personalized Internet services, or other online services via the publicnetwork 312. In addition, the second APP switch 340 can be coupled to asubscriber and system store 348 that includes account information, suchas account information that is associated with users who access the IPTVsystem 300 via the private network 310 or the public network 312. In anillustrative embodiment, the subscriber and system store 348 can storesubscriber or customer data and create subscriber or customer profilesthat are associated with IP addresses, stock-keeping unit (SKU) numbers,other identifiers, or any combination thereof, of corresponding set-topbox devices 316, 324. In another illustrative embodiment, the subscriberand system store can store data associated with capabilities of set-topbox devices associated with particular customers.

In a particular embodiment, the application tier 304 can include aclient gateway 350 that communicates data directly to the client-facingtier 302. In this embodiment, the client gateway 350 can be coupleddirectly to the CFT switch 330. The client gateway 350 can provide useraccess to the private network 310 and the tiers coupled thereto. In anillustrative embodiment, the set-top box devices 316, 324 can access theIPTV system 300 via the access network 366, using information receivedfrom the client gateway 350. User devices can access the client gateway350 via the access network 366, and the client gateway 350 can allowsuch devices to access the private network 310 once the devices areauthenticated or verified. Similarly, the client gateway 350 can preventunauthorized devices, such as hacker computers or stolen set-top boxdevices from accessing the private network 310, by denying access tothese devices beyond the access network 366.

For example, when the first representative set-top box device 316accesses the client-facing tier 302 via the access network 366, theclient gateway 350 can verify subscriber information by communicatingwith the subscriber and system store 348 via the private network 310.Further, the client gateway 350 can verify billing information andstatus by communicating with the OSS/BSS gateway 344 via the privatenetwork 310. In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 344 can transmit aquery via the public network 312 to the OSS/BSS server 364. After theclient gateway 350 confirms subscriber and/or billing information, theclient gateway 350 can allow the set-top box device 316 to access IPTVcontent and VoD content at the client-facing tier 302. If the clientgateway 350 cannot verify subscriber information for the set-top boxdevice 316, because it is connected to an unauthorized twisted pair, theclient gateway 350 can block transmissions to and from the set-top boxdevice 316 beyond the access network 366.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the acquisition tier 306 includes an acquisitiontier (AQT) switch 352 that communicates with the private network 310.The AQT switch 352 can also communicate with the operations andmanagement tier 308 via the public network 312. In a particularembodiment, the AQT switch 352 can be coupled to one or more liveAcquisition-servers (A-servers) 354 that receive or acquire televisioncontent, movie content, advertisement content, other video content, orany combination thereof, from a broadcast service 356, such as asatellite acquisition system or satellite head-end office. In aparticular embodiment, the live acquisition server 354 can transmitcontent to the AQT switch 352, and the AQT switch 352 can transmit thecontent to the CFT switch 330 via the private network 310.

In an illustrative embodiment, content can be transmitted to theD-servers 332, where it can be encoded, formatted, stored, replicated,or otherwise manipulated and prepared for communication from the videoserver(s) 380 to the set-top box devices 316, 324. The CFT switch 330can receive content from the video server(s) 380 and communicate thecontent to the CPE 314, 322 via the access network 366. The set-top boxdevices 316, 324 can receive the content via the CPE 314, 322, and cantransmit the content to the television monitors 318, 326. In anillustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of the content can bestreamed to the set-top box devices 316, 324.

Further, the AQT switch 352 can be coupled to a video-on-demand importerserver 358 that receives and stores television or movie content receivedat the acquisition tier 306 and communicates the stored content to theVoD server 336 at the client-facing tier 302 via the private network310. Additionally, at the acquisition tier 306, the VoD importer server358 can receive content from one or more VoD sources outside the IPTVsystem 300, such as movie studios and programmers of non-live content.The VoD importer server 358 can transmit the VoD content to the AQTswitch 352, and the AQT switch 352, in turn, can communicate thematerial to the CFT switch 330 via the private network 310. The VoDcontent can be stored at one or more servers, such as the VoD server336.

When users issue requests for VoD content via the set-top box devices316, 324, the requests can be transmitted over the access network 366 tothe VoD server 336, via the CFT switch 330. Upon receiving suchrequests, the VoD server 336 can retrieve the requested VoD content andtransmit the content to the set-top box devices 316, 324 across theaccess network 366, via the CFT switch 330. The set-top box devices 316,324 can transmit the VoD content to the television monitors 318, 326. Inan illustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of VoD content canbe streamed to the set-top box devices 316, 324.

FIG. 3 further illustrates that the operations and management tier 308can include an operations and management tier (OMT) switch 360 thatconducts communication between the operations and management tier 308and the public network 312. In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 3, theOMT switch 360 is coupled to a TV2 server 362. Additionally, the OMTswitch 360 can be coupled to an OSS/BSS server 364 and to a simplenetwork management protocol monitor 386 that monitors network deviceswithin or coupled to the IPTV system 300. In a particular embodiment,the OMT switch 360 can communicate with the AQT switch 352 via thepublic network 312.

The OSS/BSS server 364 may include a cluster of servers, such as one ormore CPE data collection servers that are adapted to request and storeoperations systems data, such as performance data from the set-top boxdevices 316, 324. In an illustrative embodiment, the CPE data collectionservers may be adapted to analyze performance data to identify acondition of a physical component of a network path associated with aset-top box device, to predict a condition of a physical component of anetwork path associated with a set-top box device, or any combinationthereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the live acquisition server 354 cantransmit content to the AQT switch 352, and the AQT switch 352, in turn,can transmit the content to the OMT switch 360 via the public network312. In this embodiment, the OMT switch 360 can transmit the content tothe TV2 server 362 for display to users accessing the user interface atthe TV2 server 362. For example, a user can access the TV2 server 362using a personal computer 368 coupled to the public network 312.

The avatar engine 130 of FIG. 1 can be operably coupled to the thirdcommunication system 300 for purposes similar to those described above.

It should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from theforegoing media communication system embodiments that other suitablemedia communication systems for distributing broadcast media content aswell as peer-to-peer exchange of content can be applied to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 400employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture.Communication system 400 can be overlaid or operably coupled withcommunication systems 100-300 as another representative embodiment ofsaid communication systems.

The communication system 400 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)440, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 430, and network elementsof an IMS network 450. The IMS network 450 can be coupled to IMScompliant communication devices (CD) 401, 402 or a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN) CD 403 using a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 420 that connects the call through a common PSTN network 460.

IMS CDs 401, 402 register with the IMS network 450 by contacting a ProxyCall Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with anAuthentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) supported by the HSS440. To accomplish a communication session between CDs, an originatingIMS CD 401 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) messageto an originating P-CSCF 404 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 406. The originating S-CSCF 406 can submit the SIPINVITE message to an application server (AS) such as reference 410 thatcan provide a variety of services to IMS subscribers. For example, theapplication server 410 can be used to perform originating treatmentfunctions on the calling party number received by the originating S-CSCF406 in the SIP INVITE message.

Originating treatment functions can include determining whether thecalling party number has international calling services, and/or isrequesting special telephony features (such as *72 forward calls, *73cancel call forwarding, *67 for caller ID blocking, and so on).Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 406 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 430 to translate an E. 164 telephone number to a SIP UniformResource Identifier (URI) if the targeted communication device is IMScompliant. If the targeted communication device is a PSTN device, theENUM system 430 will respond with an unsuccessful address resolution andthe S-CSCF 406 will forward the call to the MGCF 420 via a BreakoutGateway Control Function (BGCF) 419.

When the ENUM server 430 returns a SIP URI, the SIP URI is used by anInterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 407 to submit a query to the HSS 440 toidentify a terminating S-CSCF 414 associated with a terminating IMS CDsuch as reference 402. Once identified, the I-CSCF 407 can submit theSIP INVITE to the terminating S-CSCF 414 which can call on anapplication server 411 similar to reference 410 to perform theoriginating treatment telephony functions described earlier. Theterminating S-CSCF 414 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 416associated with the terminating CD 402. The P-CSCF 416 then signals theCD 402 to establish communications. The aforementioned process issymmetrical. Accordingly, the terms “originating” and “terminating” inFIG. 4 can be interchanged.

IMS network 450 can also be operably coupled to the avatar engine 130previously discussed for FIG. 1. In this representative embodiment, theavatar engine 130 can be accessed over a PSTN or VoIP channel ofcommunication system 400 by common techniques such as described above.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 530. The portal530 can be used for managing services of communication systems 100-400.The portal 530 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) witha common Internet browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer using anInternet-capable communication device such as references 108, 116, or210 of FIGS. 1-2. The portal 530 can be configured to access a mediaprocessor such as references 106, 204, 206, 316, and 324 of FIGS. 1-3and services managed thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), anElectronic Programming Guide (EPG), VoD catalog, a personal catalog(such as personal videos, pictures, audio recordings, etc.) stored inthe STB, a personal computer or server in a user's home or office, andso on.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 600.Communication device 600 can be a representative portion of any of theaforementioned communication devices of FIGS. 1-4. The communicationdevice 604 can comprise a wireline and/or wireless transceiver 602(herein transceiver 602), a user interface (UI) 604, a power supply 614,and a controller 606 for managing operations thereof. The transceiver602 can support short-range or long-range wireless access technologiessuch as a Bluetooth wireless access protocol, a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)access protocol, a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT)wireless access protocol, cellular, software defined radio (SDR) and/orWiMAX technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,and next generation technologies as they arise.

The transceiver 602 can also support common wireline access technologiessuch as circuit-switched wireline access technologies, packet-switchedwireline access technologies, or combinations thereof. PSTN canrepresent one of the common circuit-switched wireline accesstechnologies. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and IP datacommunications can represent some of the commonly availablepacket-switched wireline access technologies. The transceiver 602 canalso be adapted to support IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) protocol forinterfacing to an IMS network that can combine PSTN and VoIPcommunication technologies.

The UI 604 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 608 and anavigation mechanism such as a roller ball, joystick, mouse, and/ornavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device600. The keypad 608 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 600 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wiring interface (such as a USB) or a wirelessinterface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 608 can representa numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a Qwerty keypadwith alphanumeric keys.

The UI 604 can further include a display 610 such as monochrome or colorLCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) orother suitable display technology for conveying images to the end userof the communication device 600. In an embodiment where the display 610is touch-sensitive, a portion or all of the keypad 608 can be presentedby way of the display. The UI 604 can also include an audio system 612that utilizes common audio technology for conveying low volume audio(such as audio heard only in the proximity of a human ear) and highvolume audio (such as speakerphone for hands free operation). The audiosystem 612 can further include a microphone for receiving audiblesignals of an end user.

The power supply 614 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 600 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The controller 606 can utilizecomputing technologies such as a microprocessor and/or digital signalprocessor (DSP) with associated storage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM,SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative method 700 operating in portions ofcommunication systems 100-400. FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative embodimentof a system 800 operating according to the method of FIG. 7. FIG. 8depicts an interactive media communication system 801 such as thesystems shown in FIGS. 1-4 (singly or collectively). The interactivemedia communication system (iMCS) can be coupled to the avatar engine130 and one or more STBs 806. The STBs 806 can be operatively coupled tomedia presentation devices such as a high-definition television (HDTV)810 which can present avatar images 808 (herein referred to avatar 808)supplied by the avatar engine 130 by way of the STBs. A user 802 of theSTB 806 can interact with the avatar 808 by speech as well as tactilecontrols using a remote control 804.

The HDTV 812 can also have a common camera sensor 812 for capturingstill and/or moving images of the user 802, which can be displayed inpart by the HDTV as a picture-in-picture (PIP) image 814. The visualimages of the user can be conveyed to the STB 806. Speech can bedetected by a microphone of an audio system of the remote control 804 oran audio system of the STB 806. The avatar 808 can be an animated image,or can have human-like qualities such as the avatar image 809. The STB806 can transmit to the avatar engine 130 the visual images as well asspeech signals of the user 802 for analysis.

The avatar engine 130 can also be communicatively coupled to a mobilephone 805 with a camera 807 that can convey still or moving images ofthe user 802 to the avatar engine. The mobile phone 805 can have anaudio system for receiving responses of the user 802 and for conveyingthe user's speech to the avatar engine 130. The audio system can alsohave a loud speaker to convey to the user 802 synthesized speech of theavatar 808 for hands-free operations. To avoid disturbing others, themobile phone 805 can also incorporate common Bluetooth wirelesstransceiver technology to communicate with a common Bluetooth headset811 worn by the user 802. Similarly, the avatar engine 130 can becommunicatively coupled to a computer 813 with similar resources as themobile phone 805.

With system 800 in mind, method 700 can begin with step 702 in which theavatar engine 130 retrieves a user profile associated with the user 802of the iMCS 801. This step can be responsive to the user 802 requestingaccess to the avatar 808 by initiating a speech command or tactilecommand (such as selecting an avatar request button on the remotecontrol 804) that is detected by the STB 806, and thereby conveyed tothe avatar engine 130. The user profile can include demographicprofiling information of the user 802, psychographic profilinginformation of the user, and/or user preferences supplied by the user.The demographic profiling information of the user 802 can be based onage, gender, income, number of occupants in household, occupation,education, value of residential property, location of residentialproperty, and/or fees paid for services rendered by the iMCS 801—just toname a few possibilities.

The demographic profiling information of the user 802 can be determinedfrom a subscriber account of the user and/or monitored media consumptionbehavior of the user. One or more network elements of the iMCS 801 canutilize common demographic analysis tools to make these determinations.

The psychographic profiling information of the user 802 can also bedetermined from monitored media consumption behavior of the user and/orsubscriber account information. Utilizing common psychographic analysistools, one or more network elements of the iMCS 801 can generate thepsychographic profiling information of the user 802. The psychographicprofiling information can identify one or more traits, attitudes,interests, and/or lifestyles of the user 802.

User preferences supplied by the user 802 can identify, for example, apreferred gender for the avatar, a preferred image (could be an image ofthe user 802, an image of a friend or spouse of the user, celebrity,etc.), a preferred personality for the avatar (mild-mannered avatar),preferred search preferences, preferred content sources, preferredmerchants for purchasing or selling goods or services, and so on.

In step 704 the avatar engine 130 can present on the HDTV 810 the avatar808 correlated to the user profile as described above. The avatar engine130 can use common correlation technology to statistically generate anavatar image that is likely suited for the user 802 according to theaforementioned aspects provided by the user profile. Using common speechsynthesis and recognition technology, the avatar engine 130 can interactwith the user 802 by way of the avatar 808 to provide interactive mediaservices. The interactive function can be initiated by the user 802 withspeech or tactile responses on the remote control 804 which can bedetected by the avatar engine 130 in step 706 by way of the STB 806.

User responses can represent any detectable visual or audible responseof the user 802 determined from an exchange between the user and theavatar engine 130 by way of the avatar 808. A response for example canrepresent a command such as, “Show me my DVR recordings,” “Record thisprogram,” Show me the EPG for HD channels,” Show me the VoD catalog forfamily movies,” “Show me YouTube.com”, “Show me contemporary music iniTunes™”, “What's the weather like outside?”, “What's the weatherforecast for the next three days?”, “Where can I buy Spencer Tracymovies”, “Please auction my five Spiderman comic books on eBay™. Acceptonly bids that exceed $200 per comic book. You can find detailedinformation about each comic book and visual images in my Spidermanfolder, which you can use to display on eBay™”, “Please purchase a 3GiPhone™ on-line if you find one with 16 Gbytes of memory, and XXXfeatures for less than $250”, and so on.

The avatar engine 130 thus can be programmed, for example, to identifyin step 708 from the user's responses a need to engage in an e-commercetransaction. E-commerce transactions can represent any commercialtransaction for purchasing or selling goods or services over acommunication system such as the Internet. In step 710, the avatarengine 130 can determine from the user's responses whether thetransaction is a purchase or sale. If the transaction is a purchase, theavatar engine 130 can proceed to step 712 where it can identify from theresponses a good or service requested by the user 802. Assume forillustration purposes that the user 802 has requested an on-linepurchase of the iPhone™ as described above. In step 714, the avatarengine 130 can search one or more merchant systems for the iPhone™.

A merchant system in the present context can mean any on-line systemcapable of engaging in e-commerce transactions with other on-linesystems such as the avatar engine 130. Each of the merchant systems candefine an Application Programming Interfaces (API) which can be madepublically available so that programmers can program the avatar engine130 to engage in e-commerce transactions without manual intervention asdescribed below.

The search procedure employed by the avatar engine 130 in step 714 canbe based on preferences supplied in the user profile of step 702 and/orobserved behaviors of the user 802 monitored by the avatar engine andrecorded in a behavioral profile. The avatar engine 130 can search forknown sources for the iPhone™, such as AT&T and Apple, as well as searchfor ad hoc sources for the phone such as eBay™. The avatar engine 130can determine from on-line merchant systems managed by these sourceswhich of the merchant systems offers the best price for the iPhone™ withthe desired features outlined by the user. The avatar engine 130 canalso explore which merchant system can most reliably provide what themerchant system (or sellers associated therewith—as in the case of eBay)is offering, which merchant system provides the better money-backguarantee, which merchant system is able to combine a discount for phoneservices with a purchase of the iPhone™, and so on. Based on theobserved behavior of the user 802 from prior e-commerce transactions,the avatar engine 130 can apply a weight of importance to theseadditional factors explored with each merchant system.

When the avatar engine 130 determines that one of the merchant systemshas an offer that stands out from the rest, the avatar engine canproceed to step 716 where it engages with said system in a commercialexchange. On the other hand, if the avatar engine 130 determines thatmore than one merchant system offers adequate deals for the iPhone™,then the avatar engine can present the user by way of the avatar 808 theavailable options to purchase the phone accompanied with a request forinstructions from the user. Under these circumstances, the user 802 canselect a merchant from the options provided, which can trigger theavatar engine 130 to proceed to step 716 as described above.Alternatively, the user 802 can select more than one merchant which cancause the avatar engine 130 to negotiate with more than one merchantsystem contemporaneously. In yet another embodiment, the user profilecan be used by the avatar engine 130 to identify preferred merchants, apriority of merchants, or a directive to randomly choose merchants whenthere is more than one adequate offer without disturbing the user 802.

Once the avatar engine 130 has transitioned to step 716, it can engagein a commercial exchange in any suitable manner that serves the bestinterests of the user 802. For example, if the merchant system supportsan auctioning process, the avatar engine 130 can offer a bid for theiPhone™ at a price that can be less than the price limit set by the user802 (for example, $200). The avatar engine 130 can then engage in abidding exchange with the merchant system against others bidders vyingfor the purchase of the same product. If, however, the merchant systemoffers the iPhone™ at a fixed price, the avatar engine 130 can acceptthe price in step 718 if it meets the user's criteria, and proceed tostep 720 to consummate the purchase.

Once the merchant system and the avatar engine 130 reach an agreed priceat step 718, the avatar engine retrieves payment information in step 720from a database or other suitable payment data source and supplies thisinformation to the merchant system to complete the purchase. The paymentinformation can represent credit card information, bank accountinformation, or other suitable forms of payment data. To add security tothe payment process, the avatar engine 130 can instead engage anintermediary payment system (such as PayPal™) to fulfill the paymentprocess without divulging sensitive information to the merchant systemor its users.

Once the product has been purchased, the avatar engine 130 can generatea commercial status for the transaction and communicate said status instep 722 by way of the avatar 808. The commercial status can notify theuser 802 that the good or service requested has been found, that thegood or service requested has been carried out (or not and why), and/orthat the merchant (by way of the merchant system) has proposed apurchase price that is beyond an agreed limit set by the user. Thelatter notification can occur if in step 718, the avatar engine 130cannot reach agreement with the merchant system such as in a biddingprocess where the bids exceed the purchase price limit set by the user802. In this instance, the user 802 can be notified by the avatar engine130 by way of the avatar 808, and if desired the user can raise thelimit, thereby re-engaging the avatar engine 130 in the bidding processstarted at step 716.

Referring back to step 710, the avatar engine 130 can instead detectthat the user 802 wants to sell a good or service identified in step 724as, for example, the Spiderman comic book collectables. From theresponses of the user 802, the avatar engine 130 can also determinewhether the user wants to sell the goods or services at a fixed price orauction. Depending on this determination, the avatar engine 130 canidentify one or more merchant systems from a random search, preferencesidentified in the user profile, or a behavioral profile generated by theavatar engine from historical observations of the user's behavior inprior e-commerce transactions. For example, the behavioral profile canidentify eBay™ as a preferred merchant system of the user for auctionsor fixed sale transactions. The user profile might however identifyon-line merchant systems specializing in comic book exchanges as apreference over a general purpose merchant system such as eBay™.

Once the avatar engine 130 identifies a merchant system in step 726according to the above determinations it can inform the merchant systemof the parameters for the sale such as, for example, the fixed price tobe offered, a minimum price floor in an auction sale, delivery charges,warranty terms, marketing images of the good or service offered that canbe displayed by the merchant system, and so on. In step 728, the avatarengine 130 can monitor offers received by the merchant system. Theavatar engine 130 accept or reject the offers in step 730. If apurchaser's offer is accepted, the avatar engine 130 can proceed to step732 where it awaits payment notification from the merchant system. Oncepayment notification is received, the avatar engine 130 can generate acommercial status for the transaction which is communicated to the user802 by way of the avatar 808 in step 722. The commercial status can, forexample, indicate that one or more of the comic books were sold, thesale price of the items sold, and an account balance after commissionpaid to the merchant system as well as other transactional expenses suchas a sales tax.

If the offer is not accepted by the avatar engine 130 because forexample the offer is below the minimum price established by the user,the avatar engine can proceed to step 722 where it informs the user byway of the avatar 808 of a counteroffer, and awaits directions from theuser. If the user accepts the counteroffer, the avatar engine 130 candirect the merchant system in step 726 to accept the offer andconsummate the sale.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, method 700 can beapplied to any communication device (such as a computer, STB, cellphone, IMS or VoIP phone) communicatively coupled to the avatar engine130.

In another embodiment, the avatar engine 130 can be integrated in anycommunication device. For example, the avatar engine 130 can be anintegral part of the STB 806, a mobile phone, a PDA, a gaming console, acommunication device of an IMS system such as shown in FIG. 4, a portal,and so on. Additionally, the avatar engine 130 can be distributedbetween devices. In this embodiment, a portion of the avatar engine 130can operate in a network element of the iMCS 801, while another portionoperates in another communication device.

It should be apparent from these illustrations that other suitablemodifications can be applied to the present disclosure without departingfrom the scope of the claims below. Accordingly, the reader is directedto the claims section for a fuller understanding of the breadth andscope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 900 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 900 may include a processor 902 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 904 and a static memory 906, which communicate with each othervia a bus 908. The computer system 900 may further include a videodisplay unit 910 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system900 may include an input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 914 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 916, a signal generationdevice 918 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 920.

The disk drive unit 916 may include a machine-readable medium 922 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 924)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 924may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 904, the static memory 906, and/or within the processor 902during execution thereof by the computer system 900. The main memory 904and the processor 902 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 924, or that which receives and executes instructions 924from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 926 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 926 using the instructions 924. Theinstructions 924 may further be transmitted or received over a network926 via the network interface device 920.

While the machine-readable medium 922 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape;and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives is considered a distributionmedium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1. An avatar engine, comprising a controller to: retrieve a user profileof a user; present the user an avatar having characteristics thatcorrelate to the user profile; detect one or more responses of the userduring a communication exchange between the avatar and the user;identify from the one or more responses a need to engage in ane-commerce transaction; engage in a commercial exchange with a merchantsystem according to the e-commerce transaction; identify a commercialstatus of the e-commerce transaction from the commercial exchange withthe merchant system; and present the user by way of the avatar thecommercial status of the e-commerce transaction.
 2. The avatar engine ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to purchase from the merchantsystem a good or service requested by the user.
 3. The avatar engine ofclaim 2, wherein the controller is adapted to: retrieve paymentinformation of the user; and supply the payment information to themerchant system to carry out the purchase.
 4. The avatar engine of claim3, wherein the payment information comprises one of credit cardinformation, or bank account information.
 5. The avatar engine of claim2, wherein the controller is adapted to: search one or more merchantsystems for the good or service requested by the user; and identify themerchant system from the search.
 6. The avatar engine of claim 5,wherein the controller is adapted to: present the user by way of theavatar the good or service found and an identification of a merchantassociated with the merchant system; detect one or more responses of theuser during another communication exchange between the avatar and theuser; determine from the one or more response a desire to purchase orbid for the good or service; and engage in the commercial exchange withthe merchant system to effectuate the purchase or bid of said good orservice.
 7. The avatar engine of claim 1, wherein the commercial statuscorresponds to at least one of a first notification that a good orservice requested by the user was found, a second notification that apurchase of the good or service requested by the user was carried out ornot carried out, a third notification that a sale of a good or serviceoffered by the user was carried out or not carried out by a third party,and a fourth notification that the merchant system is proposing apurchase price that is beyond an agreed limit established by the user.8. The avatar engine of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted tomanage the commercial exchange with the merchant system according to atleast one of the user profile, a behavioral profile of the user, andcommunication exchanges between the avatar and the user.
 9. The avatarengine of claim 1, wherein the merchant system corresponds to a systemfor auctioning goods or services, and wherein the controller is adaptedto: initiate by way of the merchant system an e-commerce auction of agood or service of the user; receive from the merchant system one ormore bids from one or more bidders communicatively coupled to themerchant system; accept or reject the one or more bids; identify fromthe accepted or rejected bids the commercial status of the e-commerceauction; and present the user by way of the avatar the commercial statusof the e-commerce auction.
 10. The avatar engine of claim 1, wherein themerchant system corresponds to a system for selling fixed price goods orservices, and wherein the controller is adapted to: initiate by way ofthe merchant system an e-commerce sale of a good or service of the user;receive from the merchant system one or more purchase requests for thegood or service of the user; receive from the merchant system one ormore notifications of payment fulfillment of each of the one or morepurchase requests; and present the user by way of the avatar thecommercial status of the e-commerce sale.
 11. The avatar engine of claim1, wherein the merchant system corresponds to a system for auctioninggoods or services, and wherein the controller is adapted to: submit abid to the merchant system to purchase a good or service promoted by wayof the merchant system; receive from the merchant system an indicationof an acceptance or rejection of the bid; and present the user by way ofthe avatar the commercial status of the bid.
 12. The avatar engine ofclaim 1, wherein the characteristics of the avatar correspond to atleast one of characteristics associated with physiological appearance,clothing style, speech, gestures, maturity, and knowledge, and whereinthe user profile comprises at least one of demographic profilinginformation of the user, psychographic profiling information of theuser, and user preferences supplied by the user.
 13. The avatar engineof claim 1, wherein the avatar engine operates in a computing devicecommunicatively coupled to an interactive media communication system(iMCS).
 14. The avatar engine of claim 13, wherein the iMCS correspondsto one of an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) communication system,an interactive cable TV communication system, an interactive satelliteTV communication system, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communicationsystem, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network, and a cellularcommunication system.
 15. A method, comprising presenting a user anavatar having characteristics that correlate to a profile of the user;identifying from a communication exchange between the user and theavatar a need to engage in an e-commerce transaction; identifying amerchant system that satisfies the identified need; and engaging in acommercial exchange with the merchant system according to the e-commercetransaction.
 16. The method of claim 15, comprising: identifying acommercial status of the e-commerce transaction from the commercialexchange with the merchant; and presenting the user by way of the avatarthe commercial status of the e-commerce transaction.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein a merchant system corresponds to at least one of anon-line auctioning system, and an on-line retailer.
 18. The method ofclaim 16, comprising: purchasing from the merchant system a good orservice requested by the user; retrieving payment information of theuser; and supplying the payment information to the merchant system tocarry out the purchase.
 19. The method of claim 16, comprising managingthe commercial exchange with the merchant system according to at leastone of the user profile, a behavioral profile of the user, andcommunication exchanges between the avatar and the user.
 20. The methodof claim 16, comprising: initiating by way of the merchant system ane-commerce auction of a good or service of the user; receiving from themerchant system one or more bids from one or more bidders; accepting orrejecting the one or more bids; identifying from the accepted orrejected bids the commercial status of the e-commerce auction; andpresenting the user by way of the avatar the commercial status of thee-commerce auction.
 21. The method of claim 16, comprising: initiatingby way of the merchant system an e-commerce sale of a good or service ofthe user; receiving from the merchant system one or more purchaserequests for the good or service of the user; receiving from themerchant system one or more notifications of payment fulfillment of eachof the one or more purchase requests; and presenting the user by way ofthe avatar the commercial status of the e-commerce sale.
 22. The methodof claim 16, comprising: submitting a bid to the merchant system topurchase a good or service promoted by way of the merchant system;receiving from the merchant system an indication of an acceptance orrejection of the bid; and presenting the user by way of the avatar thecommercial status of the bid.
 23. A computer-readable storage medium,comprising computer instructions for: presenting a user an avatar havingcharacteristics that correlate to a profile of the user; identifyingfrom a communication exchange between the user and the avatar a need toengage in an e-commerce transaction; and engaging in a commercialexchange with a merchant system according to the identified e-commercetransaction.
 24. The storage medium of claim 23, comprising computerinstructions for: identifying a commercial status of the e-commercetransaction from the commercial exchange with the merchant; andpresenting the user by way of the avatar the commercial status of thee-commerce transaction, wherein the commercial status corresponds to atleast one of a first notification that a good or service requested bythe user was found or not found, a second notification that a purchaseof the good or service requested by the user was carried out or notcarried out, a third notification that a sale of a good or serviceoffered by the user was carried out or not carried out by a third party,and a fourth notification that the merchant system is proposing apurchase price that is beyond an agreed limit established by the user.25. The storage medium of claim 23, comprising computer instructions formanaging the commercial exchange with the merchant system according toat least one of the user profile and a behavioral profile of the user.